Christmas tree stands having a variety of characteristics have been developed for supporting artificial, fiber optic Christmas trees. In addition to supporting the Christmas tree, these stands also typically house some or all of the electrical components used to illuminate the fiber optics of the tree. An example of such a Christmas tree stand is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,248 (“Ferguson”). Ferguson discloses a fiber optic Christmas tree stand having an inner cavity for holding a number of electrical components that illuminate the tree's fiber optics. Ferguson's tree stand also includes a plurality of air vents that permit the heat generated within the cavity to be vented to the outside environment.
Another example of a fiber optic Christmas tree stand is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,863 (“Gotshall”). Gotshall discloses a circular Christmas tree base having a number of electrical components and switches disposed on the exterior of the base that control the illumination and musical effects provided with the Christmas tree base. As with Ferguson, a plurality of apertures are included in the periphery of the base housing to provide ventilation for the lamp, motor and color wheel assembly disposed within the tree base.
An artificial, fiber optic Christmas tree of a slightly different design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,390 (“Zins”). Zins' fiber optic Christmas tree includes a base or stand that supports a main tree trunk from which the fiber optically illuminated branches of the artificial tree extend. Zins further discloses a plurality of cooling vents disposed on the tree trunk itself for ventilating the heat generated by the fiber optic light sources within the tree branches. A cooling fan is provided for within the interior of the main trunk that circulates the air past the lighting elements in the tree branches. The circulated air is drawn in the vents at one end of the tree trunk and expelled out the vents at the other end.
Each of these designs are well suited for indoor use where the accumulation of snow and other debris will not impede the flow of air through the tree base in providing the necessary cooling functions. Heretofore, however, no design robust enough to function in a harsh outdoor environment has been provided for a fiber optic Christmas tree stand. In particular, the cooling ability provided by the Christmas tree stand must be protected from the elements such that accumulated snow, blowing debris and other harsh environmental aspects present in a wintry environment do not impair the cooling efficiency of the stand.
Additional designs for outdoor lighted display stands are also needed that include various improvements to the airflow within the display stand and the resultant cooling function. In particular, variations in the placement of the airflow ports are needed so as to provide improved cooling ability for the electronic components within the display stand while still retarding the harsh environmental effects encountered when the stand is used in an outdoor environment.
Further, safety mechanisms involving the electrical components contained within display stands are needed. In particular, no lighted display stands have heretofore adopted a modular approach with respect to the replacement of the electronic components within the lighted display stands, for example, so as to easily replace a burned-out light bulb or other electrical component. When providing such a solution, the safety of the operator must be accounted for, particularly when performing the replacement in a wet or otherwise harsh environment. In certain aspects, such safety considerations may include lock-out and power-off functions that preclude the operator from contacting fully-powered electrical components.